Barnwood & Chicken Wire: Room Makeover

Well, calving season has just started for us and we've been blessed with some pretty spectacular weather here in Colorado this week.  I keep telling our mama cows that, "this week is the week, girls!"  I'm praying that all of our babies are healthy and the mama cows are smart enough to have them in the shelters and not out in the open where the wind can get to them.  The wind can be down-right nasty up here in northern Colorado. So, I thought I'd show you guys a fun little room make over that my good friend Holly Wolters did to her living room.  Holly and I have been friends since we were babies.  My mom used to baby-sit her starting at the age of 8 months, so we have literally known each other almost our whole lives.  She's married to Eddie, who is an awesome guy, and they have two sweet children Zane and Shayla.  The Wolter's have lived in there house for about a year now and it's a great house in an older community that backs right up to open space. 

Holly has been scouring Pinterest to find ideas to brighten up her VERY neutral living room and is very drawn to pieces that are turquoise and red.  She'd be the first to admit that even though she loves the colors she has been a little intimidated to throw in these two bright colors because of how she had her place decorated before.  After a little nudging from me, she decided to add in small pieces throughout the room to spice things up a bit.

Here's her living room from before: 

Having the entertainment center on the wall really made the plain-Jane fire place stick out.  I understand how most people want this to be a focal point of the room but this fireplace had really nothing eye-pleasing to offer.  Having the couches and chairs all lined up on one wall also made the room seem so divided and uninviting.  Plus, that right wall behind the couch is just screaming, "I need some artwork!"  And as you can see there's just about zilch color in this space.  Lots of brown, blacks and tans...pretty blah, right?

Here's her living room after:

I think Holly did a phenomenal job by adding in the colors that she loved but not going too overboard to where you're eye gets caught on a one bright piece.  For me, the cute sideboard behind the couch makes the room.  It just adds such a polished looked to this room and the décor she chose for on top of the table is super chic.  Everything she added in the room she picked up from Hobby lobby and she stayed right around her budget of $150.  That's pretty impressive!  I think the pictures hanging from the railing on the wall is so unique and totally out of the ordinary to how most pictures are displayed.

Sometimes watching all of the HGTV shows can really get a person down about their house because they may not be able to do a total remodel, but adding colorful pieces and interesting furniture can seriously bring a whole new flavor to any room.  Even if you're intimidated by color, just try moving your current furniture around to see what it looks like. This can freshen up a space drastically.

I think the only items I'd want to add in this room are some fun throw pillows, a fur throw over the back of the couch and maybe a narrow table or even an ottoman that could sit along the left wall under the flower picture.  But overall the colors are beautiful and I know Holly and her family will really enjoy this space so much more now that it's a lot brighter in there.

So here's to being BRAVE with color!  Just go for it!

Cooped Up Mama Candace